The Best Of James

Talk about your oblique strategies. With a stealth that would make the most cunning panther proud, in its serpentine career the English collective James has accumulated one of the most impressive song catalogs around. It hardly matters that few of these singles have been stateside hits. James's specialty is the chapel-chiming alterna- track, borne on majestic guitar hooks and the breathy, breathtaking vocals of sensitive-guy frontman Tim Booth. Thus, this gorgeous anthology may come as a shock to Yanks familiar with the group only via its quasi-novelty number "Laid," or maybe the whooping "Born of Frustration." Material-wise, the old ("Sit Down") shimmers as brightly as the new ("Tomorrow," "She's a Star"). Booth is such a likable, commanding presence, and his combo such an exhilarating, optimistic force, that you only want to hear more from James once this album ends.